Third (3G) and fourth (4G) generation telecommunication systems and wireless local area networks employ multiple frequency bands and handover measurements are needed to determine which band to use at any given time. The relevant methods are called inter-frequency measurements, which are used as an input to inter-system or inter-frequency handovers protocols or other resource control units.
Inter-frequency measurement is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,741,587 B2. In the reference, one receiving antenna is reserved for an inter-frequency measurement and correspondingly one transmit antenna is disabled. The method disclosed in the reference does not utilize transmitter resources optimally, because during the inter-frequency measurement, all the transmit antennas cannot be utilized. Furthermore, effectiveness of the transmission during measurements is compromised.